at home again
i've arrived home from my bosnian trip. train rides are long, but easily the best way to travel. you have freedom to move about the train pretty much at your will. most trains in the balkans allow smoking, which isn't so much a plus for me, but a lot of poeple seem to like it. also, since your on the train for so long, you get to talk to many different people as either they come and go, or you wander up and down the train. trains also provide weary travellers with the chance to wait in the dark at middle of nowhere stations after missing a connection, hoping that something comes along soon that atleast gets you close to your destination.
i made the train in sarajevo early, however, it left late. 28 minutes late. the train from sarajevo was a direct line to budapest. i, however, wasn't headed to budapest, which meant that i needed to change trains early on in croatia. by the time i made it to croatia, my connecting train had left. this ment i had to sit in the station for about another hour before i could catch an intercity train headed for zagreb. when the intercity train made it into zagreb, i had the chance to wait another hour until the zagreb-munich train. being tired and having not been able to sleep much on the way, i stumbled onto the train and sat down with a heavy sigh. i looked around, and noticed that the cabin was really, really, nice. the seats were leather, there was fake wood paneling on the wall, and outlets for computers. i thought to myself, 'man, these germans sure know how to make trains.' that's about the time the ticket guy showed up. appearantly, i was in first class. a short, stumbling move later, and i was back in the fabric apolstered 2nd class cabin.
when we passed the first kozoc (a little spelling help, slovenes?) i knew that i was close to home again. at 10.10, an hour and a half after my original itenirary suggested, i pulled into ljbuljana. finally home, i headed for a shower, a nap, and nice relaxing day waiting for maruška to get home.
i made the train in sarajevo early, however, it left late. 28 minutes late. the train from sarajevo was a direct line to budapest. i, however, wasn't headed to budapest, which meant that i needed to change trains early on in croatia. by the time i made it to croatia, my connecting train had left. this ment i had to sit in the station for about another hour before i could catch an intercity train headed for zagreb. when the intercity train made it into zagreb, i had the chance to wait another hour until the zagreb-munich train. being tired and having not been able to sleep much on the way, i stumbled onto the train and sat down with a heavy sigh. i looked around, and noticed that the cabin was really, really, nice. the seats were leather, there was fake wood paneling on the wall, and outlets for computers. i thought to myself, 'man, these germans sure know how to make trains.' that's about the time the ticket guy showed up. appearantly, i was in first class. a short, stumbling move later, and i was back in the fabric apolstered 2nd class cabin.
when we passed the first kozoc (a little spelling help, slovenes?) i knew that i was close to home again. at 10.10, an hour and a half after my original itenirary suggested, i pulled into ljbuljana. finally home, i headed for a shower, a nap, and nice relaxing day waiting for maruška to get home.